Something Changed
by rainstormcandles
Summary: Twister consoles Reggie after she and Otto have a fight and she develops some new feelings. Meanwhile, Sam tries to help Twister figure out why Reggie is avoiding him. Twister x Reggie
1. Chapter 1

As Reggie made her way through the halls of the school, she saw her brother. She wondered why he hadn't been at lunch. He was acting strange, looking around suspiciously while he talked to Ryan, a guy from his class. Reggie couldn't stand Ryan and she certainly didn't like him hanging out with her brother. He was a lowlife, always being disrespectful and getting into trouble. He was the classic bad-boy, the kind that girls threw themselves at all the time. Reggie didn't understand why they did that. Reggie worried about that kind of thing being appealing to Otto and she desperately didn't want him to start trying the whole "bad-boy" thing. Ryan looked through the halls, not spotting Reggie behind a locker, and handed Otto a piece of paper in exchange for money. When he had walked away, Otto started to unlock his locker and Reggie approached him.

"Rocket boy?"

Otto jumped hearing his sister's voice. "Oh. Hey, Reg."

"What was all that about?" Reggie asked.

"What?" Otto asked, trying too hard to seem casual.

"The thing with Ryan, the money, the paper?"

Otto quickly stuffed the paper in his locker. "Oh, nothing. It was, uh, just a, um, study guide!" Otto said faking a smile.

"A study guide," she repeated skeptically.

"Yep!"

Reggie rolled her eyes and reached over to his locker, grabbing the paper before he could stop her. Her eyes widened as she realized what it was.

She looked around before angrily whispering, "Otto, these are test answers!"

Otto swatted the paper from her hands. "This is none of your business."

"You can't seriously be thinking about cheating."

"It's not cheating! I'm still going to study and everything. I just wanted a little... insurance."

"Insurance?" Reggie growled, still in shock.

"If I fail this test, there's no way Raymundo's gonna let me skate in the competition on Saturday."

"Could you possibly be any more of a bone-head?"

"It's the championship! I can't risk missing it! Just stay out of it, Reg," he said sternly.

"I don't believe this! You're actually gonna go through with this? And, what? Turn out like Ryan?"

"Why do you always have to butt into everyone's lives? I'm sick of you telling me what I can and can't do."

"I don't butt into everyone's lives! And when I do, it's to keep you from doing something incredibly stupid," she retorted.

"I don't need your protection. Stop trying to act like you're my mom. I've never had one before and I'm doing fine. I don't need one now, especially not from you."

That silenced Reggie. She stood still as her brother walked away. His words stung her. He had never had a mom? She knew Otto had been young when their mother died, but how could he say that? Tears welled up in her eyes as she started to think about her mom. She swallowed and kept herself from letting any tears fall. The bell rang and students pilled out of the cafeteria, filling the halls. Reggie gained her composure and started walking towards her class.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time school had ended, Sam and Twister had gotten the update that something had happened between Reggie and Otto, but they hadn't heard any details. Twister walked out of the school, spotting Reggie ahead and running to catch up with her. For a minute, they walked next to each other without saying anything. He could tell she was in a bad mood.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"No. I don't even want to think about it right now."

"Do you want me to take you somewhere? Get your mind off of it? We could go to Madtown or the beach or the Shack," Twister suggested.

"No," Reggie snapped.

"I could take you home?"

"I can't be home right now. I can't be anywhere that I might run into him. I need to get my mind off of it."

"We could go to my house?"

"Yeah. Your house would be good."

They walked back to Twister's house, neither one of them saying a word.

"Do you want a soda or something?" he asked, opening the fridge and grabbing a coke for himself.

"Coke for me too," she said as he reached for another.

She sat down and opened the lid, only to have it explode all over her.

"Damn it! Today really just sucks, doesn't it?" Reggie grunted in defeat.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry!" Twister said, getting up to grab some paper towels before yelling, "Lars!"

Lars walked down, laughing. "At least if it didn't get the loser I was aiming for, it still got a loser."

"Back off, Lars!" Twister barked at him.

"Oh, and what are you going to do?" Lars replied in a baby voice. "Beat me up? Go cry to Mommy?"

"Maybe I will. And while I'm at it, I can tell her who slammed me into the cabinet last month, breaking her favorite China."

"Uh, no need to do that. Everything's fine. See?" He grabbed another paper towel and handed it to Reggie. "Just a little spilled coke. No harm done. Later!" he said running up the stairs.

"Much," Twister mumbled to himself, walking over to Reggie. "Sorry about him. And about your shirt. I can go grab you a dry one if you want."

"Yeah, that would be good. Do you care if I use your shower too? I'm sticky now and it got all in my hair too."

"Yeah, no problemo," Twister replied, walking her up and grabbing a blue t-shirt out of his closet. He walked her to the bathroom and handed her a clean towel and the shirt.

O.O

"Hey," Twister said as she walked into the kitchen. "I'm making us grilled cheeses. Is that cool with you?"

"That sounds perfect," Reggie said with a smile as she took a seat. If there was one food Twister had mastered, it was grilled cheeses. It was pretty much all ever he did make. The gang all loved them. They were the best in Ocean Shores.

After they ate, they went to the couch, flipping through channels until they settled on a surf competition. Lars walked in and hopped over the couch, grabbing the remote from Twister and changing the channel.

"Beat it, Lars," Twister told him.

"Try and make me," Lars growled at Twister.

"Ugh, come on Reg, let's go watch tv in my room."

The two walked upstairs and Twister stood awkwardly in his room, unsure of what to do. He looked over at his desk, where a pile of movies were stacked.

"Um, do you wanna watch a movie?" he asked.

"Sure."

They walked over and Reggie picked out out, taking a seat on his bed.

"Sorry I don't have much furniture or anything," Twister said sheepishly as he made his way to the bed after putting the movie in.

"It's okay," she replied, scooting over to make room for him to sit.

Somewhere in the middle of the movie, Reggie fell asleep. While she slept, she adjusted herself until she was using Twister as a pillow. Her head and arm rested on his chest. He could feel the dampness of her hair, but he didn't mind. He didn't know what to do, but he was feeling very content. He squirmed his arm out from under her, wrapping it around her and stroking her arm with his thumb. He wasn't even paying attention to the movie anymore. He was happy to just watch her sleep.

When Reggie woke up, she felt safe and warm. She squinted her eyes open, wondering if Twister was awake or not, but not daring to turn her head to check. She liked the position she was in. It was comforting to her. She liked being able to feel the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. She could feel his heart beating. She could see his arm and she studied it, noticing scars and freckles and the bend of his elbow, making her way up and seeing part of his bicep muscle until it was cut off by his shirt. For some reason, she wanted to reach out and touch his arm and feel his skin, but she kept her hand on his chest.

"Reg?" he said quietly. She must have moved without realizing it. She quickly shut her eyes and adjusted her breathing. She didn't want him to know she was awake. She just wanted to keep laying there for as long as possible. She felt his chest move as he took a breath and released it. Then she felt his other hand move to her head as he stroked her hair. "I wish it could be like this all the time," he said, barely loud enough for her to even hear. She stayed still as her mind raced.

At some point, the two had both fallen asleep until they were woken up by the sound of Twister's mom coming upstairs and yelling at him. "Maurice! How many times have I told you to wash the dishes after you-" Sandy opened his door and was taken aback. Reggie and Twister parted quickly. "Oh, Reggie. Hello. Maurice, may I have a word?" Twister hopped off the bed and stepped into the hallway with his mother.

"What are the two of you doing asleep in your bed? Was that your shirt she was wearing?"

"We were watching a movie; we just fell asleep. It's Lars' fault! He wouldn't let us use the tv! And he shook up the coke again before he put it in the fridge and it got all over Reggie when she opened it," Twister replied.

"Mi hijo, I know you like Reggie, but-"

"Mom!" Twister exclaimed, hushing her, "quiet! She'll hear you!"

"Oh, honey," she smiled, shaking her head. "You just need to think a little sometimes."

"Mom, she was having an awful day. She and Otto got into a huge fight and she didn't want to be around him. Then Lars came in and he-"

"I know, mi hijo. Your brother can be a handful. And I think that was very sweet of you to be there for Reggie, but I think it's probably time she goes home. It's getting late."

"It's only 9:30," Twister objected. "Okay," he conceded after receiving a stern look from his mother.

"Hey, Reg," he said, walking into the room. "My mom said I should probably be getting you back home if that's okay."

"Yeah, of course," she replied, hopping off the bed. Reggie saw Sandy as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Goodnight, Mrs. Rodriguez."

"Buenos noches, Reggie. It's nice to see you."

"You too," she replied as Twister opened the door for her.

Neither of them said anything for a little while after they stepped outside, until Reggie quietly said, "thanks."

"For what?" Twister asked.

"I don't know, for everything, I guess. For letting me borrow your shirt and making me a grilled cheese and I don't know, just... thanks," Reggie blushed. "I really appreciate you always being there for me."

"You're welcome," Twister replied, also blushing as they arrived at her house.

Once they reached the doorstep, Reggie gave Twister a hug. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and holding her for longer than he knew he should. She didn't care, she felt safe in his arms. She closed her eyes, breathing in his scent.

"Goodnight, Twister," Reggie said when they pulled apart.

"Night, Reg."


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey princess," Raymundo said as she walked in.

"Hey Dad," she paused, "is Otto home?"

"Not yet, why?"

"No reason."

"Rise of the Zombies III is on if you want to join me."

"No thanks," she replied, "I'm really tired so I think I'm just gonna head upstairs."

"Suit yourself."

Reggie plopped down on her bed. She had so much going through her mind. She thought about her fight with Otto. Anger rose within her. How could he have even thought about cheating? And how could he say that about their mom? And about her? Then she was immediately calmed when her thoughts shifted to Twister. She brought herself back to that moment where her head rested against his chest. She thought about how soothing it felt when he stroked her hair. She got chills and smiled. She thought about that last hug. Something was different, wasn't it? They hadn't ever hugged liked that before? Or did it just feel different to her? Was she just imagining things? No, she heard him say- what had he said? That he wished they could be together or he wished... What had he wished? What did that mean? Did he like her? Or was he just getting caught up in the moment? And how did she feel? She had never felt this way about Twister before. If he did like her, of course she would like him back. He was her best friend and was always there for her. She felt comforted just by being near him; he made her laugh. If he didn't like her though... She definitely wouldn't want to do anything to risk losing him as a friend. He was too important to her. She put the pillow over her face, completely confused.

Twister hadn't seen Otto or Reggie on his way to school so he assumed they had left separately in an attempt to avoid each other. He saw Sam a little ways ahead. He hopped on his skateboard and caught up with him.

"Yo, Squid!" he yelled, startling Sam.

"Oh, hey Twister," Sam said. "Did you talk to Reggie yesterday?"

"She didn't want to talk about it," he frowned. "I still don't even know what happened between the two of them."

"According to Otto, Reggie flipped out on him and was trying to control his life. He left out whatever it was he did to provoke her, but he ranted about her for practically the whole day. He went off about you for a little while too for supposedly taking her side."

Twister brushed that off. Otto got angry with him for stuff like that all the time. Soon, he would forget any bitterness he held against Twister to try to get him to team up against Reggie. "She was really upset about it, whatever it was."

"Obviously Otto's leaving out major details from his story, but Reggie does have a tendency to try to tell him what to do all the time, not to mention everyone else."

"I know. I guess she's just trying to help. I wish I knew what really happened though."

"Me too," Sam agreed.

When they got to school, they saw Reggie in the hall. They called out for her, but when she saw them, she quickly grabbed her backpack and turned the other way.

"That was weird," Sam commented.

Twister felt a lurch in his stomach. He had a feeling that her reaction was directed towards him.

For the next few days, Reggie kept to herself. When she went to school, she didn't interact much with anyone. When she saw Twister, she turned the other way, hoping he didn't notice her. She didn't want to have to deal with the strange new feelings she was having for him. She really didn't like the fact that she couldn't seem to control her feelings either. She felt nervous and flustered when she saw him. She hated feeling that way and she definitely didn't want him to see her like that. She had a little contact with Sam, Trish, and Sherrie, but still remained reclusive. She evaded any questions they would ask her when they noticed how strange she had been acting. After school, she would go straight home and essentially lock herself up in her room for the night, hoping to avoid any interaction with Otto. Her dad had been working late at the Shack most nights, so she didn't have to worry about any family dinners. She was able to just eat in her room, pouring herself into schoolwork and the Zine, trying to distract herself as much as possible. It was harder to stay distracted when she hadn't been doing any kind of sports. She didn't want to risk seeing the guys out at Madtown or the beach, so she stayed in her room.


	4. Chapter 4

"Dude, Reggie's totally avoiding me," Twister said sullenly.

"Oh no, not you too," Sam sighed, "what did you do?"

"Nothing!" Twister said defensively.

"Well, I'm sorry Twist, but I'm already trying to mend things between Reggie and Otto. If you don't even know what you did, I can't take on your case too. You're on your own, man."

"But Squid!"

Sam rolled his eyes. "When did this start?"

"She's been like this all week. Every time I've seen her, she's looked away and pretended she didn't see me."

"What happened with you two the last time you hung out?" Sam inquired.

"Nothing! She just came over and we watched a movie." Twister paused for a minute. He had thought it had been a great night, actually. He got to cuddle with her without any weirdness and they had a good hug goodnight. What went wrong? "Maybe it's because of Lars!" he concluded.

"Twister," Sam said with a hint of annoyance, "Reggie's put up with Lars for years. Why would she all of the sudden start avoiding you because of your lame-o brother?"

"Well, I don't know what else it could be," Twister replied in defeat.

"Maybe it doesn't have to do with you at all. Maybe it's just her," Sam decided.

"Huh?"

"Maybe it's something personal and she doesn't want to talk about it."

"I know! You talk to her! Find out why she's mad at me!" Twister said eagerly.

"Did you miss the part where I said it might not be about you?"

"Please, Sam! Please! You're my only hope! She's not mad at you! She'll talk to you!"

Sam sighed, "fine."

Reggie was in her room, folding laundry when she heard a knock on the door. She had an instant worried reaction. She didn't think she could handle talking to Otto. Maybe it wasn't him though. But what if it was Twister? She couldn't talk to him either. She felt her heartbeat quicken at the possibility.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Me," a familiar voice replied.

She walked over and opened the door. "Hey Sammy, come on in."

He glanced over at the hallway, looking towards Otto's room. "You two still aren't talking, huh?"

"Nope," she said folding a shirt.

"And you still don't want to talk about what happened?"

"Nope," she replied firmly, grabbing her water and taking a sip.

"Does your fight with Otto, by any chance, have anything to do with why you're freezing out Twister?"

"Twister?" she choked.

"He says you've been avoiding him."

"I've just been... busy," she lied.

"Reggie," he waited for an answer as a pained expression came across her face.

"It's really embarrassing."

"Tell me."

She raised her hand up to her mouth, biting a nail. "I think I might like Twister."

"What?" Sam asked with a mix of shock and amusement.

"I- we- I just-" Reggie tried to find the words, "something happened with us the other night. At least I think it did. I don't know what he thinks. I haven't talked to him and I just kind of thought maybe this would just go away if I laid low, but I can't stop thinking about him. This is crazy. I mean this is... Twister."

"It is that," Sam said taking a seat on her next to the bed. "So you like Twister."

Reggie gave him a look of stress and confusion. "What to I do?"

"You need to talk to him."

"I can't. I can't even see him without feeling like a total spaz. If I talk to him, I'm going to sound like a complete moron."

"I think Twister, of all people, will understand," Sam chuckled. "And what's the alternative? Staying here locked in your room until graduation?"

"You're right."

"And, I know you don't wanna talk about it and that's fine, but you need to talk to Otto too." Reggie laid down on her bed and groaned. Sam started to get up, "Well I've got to get home and work on my project for Chemistry, but call if you need anything."

"Thanks, Sammy."


	5. Chapter 5

Twister saw Sam saying something to Reggie in the hall, before walking away. She seemed to have an expression of dread. Twister ran up to Sam as soon as he cleared the corner.

"Well?" Twister pressed, "did you find out why she's mad at me?"

"She's not mad at you," Sam replied awkwardly twiddling his fingers.

"So it's not about me? Like you said before?"

"No... it's about you."

"Come on, Squid!" Twister said frustratedly, "Give me something!"

"Look," Sam said, taking off his glasses and cleaning them off, "this is something you and Reggie need to work out on your own."

"You're not going to tell me anything?"

"Sorry, man," Sam said as he walked away.

After school, Reggie and Twister saw each other as they were walking out. This time, Reggie didn't go the other way, but started walking towards him.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Twister responded.

"Um, listen. I need to talk to you," Reggie said, walking him over behind the wall. "So I know I've been acting sort of strange lately."

"You haven't even talked to me all week. I don't get it," Twister said in a hurt voice, "did I do something wrong?"

"No, no!" Reggie replied, putting a hand on his arm. "You didn't do anything! You were so great. It wasn't you at all!"

"So why the cold shoulder?" he asked.

"This is," Reggie started, not knowing exactly how to phrase it, "weird for me to say. And of course, you know you're like my best friend and I don't want to-" she took a deep breath. "Sorry. It's just that, well, the other night... at your house... I started feeling some things for you that were more than just friendly feelings."

"You..." Twister said, processing what she had just said.

"I like you, Twister. And I thought maybe if I stayed away from you for a little while, the feelings would just go away, but they didn't."

"Reggie," he said smiling at the ground, "I've always liked you."

"So," Reggie said, smiling and looking to the side, "what now?"

"Um, do you wanna hit Madtown or something?" Twister asked shyly.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Reggie said before changing her mind. "Wait, no."

"Oh," Twister said confused and a little disappointed.

"I need to fix things with Otto first. I just don't want to start all of this while we're fighting, you know?"

"Yeah, I get that. Well then," he said taking one of her hands in his, "why don't I take you on a real date then? Saturday?"

"That sounds perfect," Reggie said happily.

"I'll see you then," Twister said, then adding, "I mean I'll see you before then too because I'll see you tomorrow, but I'll also see you then."

"Awesome," Reggie said, starting to walk away, then turning back and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.

She headed to Madtown to see if Otto was there. Sure enough, she spotted him and Sam by the half-pipe. She walked over towards them and Sam saw her approach.

"Uh, well, I think I'm going to head home. I'll catch up with you guys later," Sam said before quietly telling Reggie, "good luck."

"Thanks," she replied.

Otto saw her, but kept skateboarding. "Well, well, look who finally decided to show their face."

"Otto," she said.

"So, you're actually going to talk to me now?" he asked.

She couldn't tell what his tone was; it sounded like a mixture of bitterness and amusement. "Can you stop for a minute?"

He stopped and picked up his skateboard, taking a seat on the bottom of the half-pipe. "I didn't do it," he said.

"What?" she asked, taking a seat next to him.

"I took the test this morning. I didn't cheat. I threw the answer sheet away before looking at it at all."

"That's awesome!" she exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you!"

"You shouldn't be. I was a total jerk to you the other day. I know you were just trying to help."

"I _do_ have a tendency to be a little over-bearing sometimes."

"You were right though. Sorry about what I said. I was way out of line."

"Apology accepted," she smiled.

"Thanks for always having my back, Reg."

"You got it Rocket boy," she said and they put their hands together and saying, "woogity, woogity."

"So what's been up with you?" Otto asked.

"Well," Reggie looked away, a little embarrassed. "Twister just asked me out."

"What? Oh man, I knew it! I knew he had a thing for you! He always had way more footage of you than me and he always asked about you whenever you were gone."

Reggie was pleased in hearing this information. "Ever think he got the footage because I was doing better moves than you?"

"Yeah, right," Otto replied sarcastically. Reggie brushed his comment to the side. "Poor Twist. I hope you let him down easy."

"I didn't let him down!" Reggie said defensively. "I said yes."

Otto laughed, "You did? This is Twister we're talking about."

"I know. I like Twister," Reggie stated.

He couldn't contain his laughter despite the glare Reggie was giving him. "Damn, Reg. You are going to make his life."

"I don't know about that. I'm not really his usual type," she said doubtfully.

"Not his type? Compared to what?" Otto asked bewildered.

"I don't know, Jenny? I mean, she's a pretty rad surfer, but she always looks like she stepped out of a magazine. Her hair is always perfect and I don't think I've ever seen her without makeup," Reggie said, starting to feel a little insecure.

"Trust me," Otto stated plainly, "You have nothing to worry about. They only dated for like five seconds and he wasn't into her at all. She had a thing for him and I think the only reason they lasted for more than a week was because he didn't know how to let her down."

"Oh," Reggie said, slightly reassured.

"Dude, it's Twister. You'll be fine. Now are we gonna keep talking or are we gonna shred?" he said jumping up and grabbing his skateboard.

Twister walked into the Shack, uncomfortably looking around for Raymundo. He walked through the back door and greeted Twister.

"Um, hey Raymundo. Could I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure," he said putting down a bin of silverware, "what's up?"

Twister shifted awkwardly. "Um, do you mind if we go outside or something?"

"Alright," Ray replied with a questioning expression.

Once they were out by the side of the building, Twister took a deep breath and started talking quickly. "Uh, so, Raymundo, the things is, well, Reggie and I talked and we, um, are going to go on a date on Saturday and don't worry about it because I'm going to work really hard to be the best, uh, person, I can be for her. I'm going to treat her right and take care of her and everything. I, uh, was wondering if maybe on Saturday if it would be okay to take her to the secret spot because I just want to make sure it goes really well and she has fun and I know she loves the secret spot and-"

"Twister, woah, slow down," Raymundo stopped him. "My secret spot?"

"Yeah."

"The secret spot that no one knows about?"

"Yeah."

"That's been heavily guarded for generations?"

"Yeah."

"You're taking Reggie on a date?" Raymundo said as though the news had just hit him.

"Yeah."

"Well then," Raymundo thought for a minute. "It would be a good place to take her. You and Reggie? Really?" Raymundo asked, still confused. Twister nodded. "Alright, you can go. Just make sure to watch over my little girl."

"You got it, Raymundo," Twister said giving a quick salute before leaving.

Once Twister had gone, Raymundo said "Reggie and Twister," to himself, shaking his head in disbelief.


	6. Chapter 6

As Reggie got ready that morning, she wasn't certain on what to wear. She knew it was just Twister and he saw her all the time, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal, but she wanted to look nice. He hadn't told her exactly what they were doing, he wanted it to be a surprise. However, from the information he did give her (wear a bathing suit and bring a surfboard), she could conclude that they were going surfing. She shook her head and smiled. He thought he was being so secretive, so she didn't want to break it to him that she obviously knew he was taking her surfing. However, she was still stumped on which bathing suit to wear. She picked a black halter-top style bathing suit that would look flattering and still stay secure through the waves. She paired it with some black swim shorts and tried to figure out whether or not she should add any jewelry. A necklace wouldn't look good with the halter-top and earrings would be too risky for surfing. She settled on a simple anklet. She wanted to do something with her hair so she wouldn't just look the same as always, but she knew most anything she did would get ruined in the waves. She did a french braid that would likely hold through the waves. She also put on a little bit of water-proof mascara and some lipgloss, even though she felt ridiculous putting on makeup to go surfing.

"Reggie," she heard Raymundo call from downstairs. "You have a gentlemen caller beckoning down here."

"Be down in a minute!" She looked again at herself in the mirror, checking her hair and making sure she didn't have any mascara marks on her eyes. She grabbed a bag that she had already filled with dry clothes (just in case), a towel, her wallet, a water, her phone, and her keys. She threw a gray t-shirt on over her bathing suit and made her way to the door, eying a bottle of perfume, rolling her eyes, and squirting it once on her neck.

"Hey," she said smiling at Twister as she made her way downstairs.

"Hey," he smiled back at her, "ready?"

"Yep! Bye dad!"

"Have fun, you two!" Raymundo called after them.

"You look great," Twister said as they shut the front door. Reggie blushed, surprised that the small touches she added had apparently made a difference, despite the fact that she was still just in a t-shirt and shorts. "I like your hair like that."

"Thanks," she smiled at the ground.

They grabbed their surfboards and put them on their bikes. She noticed he had brought a picnic basket and noticed some cups peaking out from the unzipped part of his backpack. She was surprised when he turned a different direction from their usual beach.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"I told you; it's a surprise."

As they kept biking, she noticed the road looked a little familiar. She wondered if they were going where she thought they were going. She hadn't been there in years. As the kids got older, it had been harder to get everyone together for surfing trips. It had been especially hard in the past few years because money had been tighter and her dad and Tito weren't able to close down as often anymore. As they rounded a corner, she knew.

"You're taking me to the secret spot," she said with a big grin on her face. Twister looked at her and smiled. She let out a squeal of excitement. "I can't believe you're taking me to the secret spot! Twister! I haven't been here in forever!" They hopped off their bikes upon arrival and looked around to see that the beach was deserted. It was all theirs.

"So, you like the surprise?" Twister asked. Reggie threw her arms around his neck, giving him a hug.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his head over her shoulder. "Mmm, you smell good," he said, breathing in her perfume.

Reggie blushed. Unsure of what to say, she released the hug and grabbed her surfboard. "Come on, let's hit the waves!"

They ran to the ocean and paddled out, catching some great waves throughout their time in the water. A few other surfers came along at one point, but they didn't stay long, so the two felt like they had the beach all to themselves. They surfed for a few hours before getting hungry and deciding to come in for lunch. They propped their boards up in the sand and Reggie was about to take a seat when Twister stopped her.

"Wait," he said, pulling a blanket out from under the basket. "I have another surprise for you."

He held up the basket and she smiled. They spread the blanket out across the sand and he set the basket down. They sat down and Twister started pulling things out that he had packed; two sandwiches, a bag of chips, some Twizzlers, and some Oreos. He also pulled out a bottle of coke from his backpack along with two plastic cups.

"And," he said, reaching into his backpack and grabbing a candle and a lighter.

"Oo, ambiance," Reggie said, a little impressed.

"Ambi- what?" he asked, but was too distracted for an explanation. He kept trying to light the candle, but the beach breeze wouldn't allow it. After the sixth time, he gave up, clearly disappointed. "This stupid candle won't even stay lit."

"It's okay, we don't need it." Reggie put her hand on his arm reassuringly. "But it was really sweet of you to bring it."

Once they had eaten their food, they sat and talked for awhile. They laughed and talked about their lives. They reminisced on old memories. They had talked about sports and the different things they had won, like the big hockey championship of 2001. They talked about all the different times Otto had gotten them into trouble, or had freaked out about competitions.

"Remember when Otto tried to go up against you in that triathlon and you totally kicked his butt? He was bitter about that for so long."

Reggie laughed, "I think he still is."

"I think it was the running that got him. He hated that part. I bet I could've beaten both of you in that part," Twister joked.

"Is that a challenge?" she replied with a smirk.

"Race you to that flag?" he asked.

"You're on."

They raced for about half a mile, Twister taking the lead once they got close to the finish line and barely winning. They caught their breaths for a minute and sat down next to each other. Reggie was exhausted and laid down in the sand. Twister leaned over her and propped himself up with his hands on each side of the ground by her body. Both of their breathing steadying as they looked at one another, but their hearts continued racing. He bent down and his lips met hers, sending a rush throughout her body. She reached her arms around his back, pulling him closer so his chest was pressed against her. She wanted to take in everything, from the warmth of the skin on his back to the strength in his lips, but before she could, it was over. She opened her eyes, looking up at him and running her hand through his hair as she smiled. He shifted his body, laying down beside her and folding his arms behind his head.

"That cloud kind of looks like a moose, doesn't it?"

Reggie scooted closer to him, propping her head against his side. "Which one?"

He pointed up to the sky. "See? It's right there. There's the legs and its head, and nose, and there are the horns."

Reggie giggled. "You mean the antlers?"

"Exactly," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Twister?" she moved her head looking up at him. He looked back at her in anticipation. "I'm really happy."

"Me too," he said with a smile. "It's hard to believe this is all really happening."

She felt the same way. She wondered how she had gone on for such a long time without seeing him like this. It was weird how easily they shifted out of friendship. It didn't feel gradual like she had expected. No, it felt more like fireworks, sudden and bright. Like this thing had always been there, but it was just sitting, waiting for the match to be lit. For a moment, she studied his face. It was the same face she had seen every day for her whole life, but now she almost felt a need to memorize it, every detail, so she would never forget. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that they were laying there together. Or that they had just kissed and it had been the best kiss she'd ever had. Before last week, she had never even thought about kissing Twister; she was very surprised at how good he was at it. She wondered if he had thought about kissing her before. She knew that logically, he probably had, but it was hard for her to picture him thinking about her like that when it was all still so new to her. She supposed it hadn't been knew for him though since he said he had liked her all this time.

"Why did you never ask me out before?" she asked.

She continued looking at him, awaiting his answer, while he looked back up at the sky, laughing to himself, "I guess I just never thought you would have said yes. Or worse, that you would say yes but it would only be because you felt sorry for me or something."

She sat up, "Why didn't you think I'd be interested.

He sat up too, looking at the water as he ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know, maybe because you're like," he sighed and smiled sheepishly, "way, way out of my league. You're, you know, beautiful and smart and athletic and confident. You're just, like, this amazing person. I still don't really even get why you like me. I mean, I'm really not that good at anything. I'm pretty average at most sports; nowhere near the level of you or Otto. I know I'm better at that stuff than the Squid, but he's still crazy smart and I'm really dumb, so he's still better than me in everything else anyway."

Reggie frowned. She had no idea Twister was so insecure about all of that. He had always seemed so carefree, just going with everything. Even as he said it, he didn't seem bothered, he just ran sand through his fingers and watched the waves crashing on the shore. He didn't look upset about it, but she could also tell by his facial expression that wasn't something he ever talked about.

"Twister," she said, putting a hand on his arm. "You're so incredible at so much. You name it, surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, you're like a million times better than most anyone in Ocean Shores. And you are _not_ dumb. Actually, you're pretty smart."

"Don't stretch it," he said with an incredulous smile.

"It's true," Reggie insisted.

"Try telling that to the guys. Or my teachers or family or pretty much anyone who's ever met me," he said as he allowed the grains of sand to slide through his fingers. Reggie was perplexed at how his expression still remained the same as always, even when she could tell from his words that this was clearly something he struggled with.

"It really bothers you, doesn't it? When the guys give you a hard time about it?"

"It's fine. It's really not a big deal. They're just telling me what I already know." He stood up, putting his hand out to pull her up. He laced his fingers through hers as they started walking. She wasn't sure if this was supposed to be some sort of sign to switch the topic. She had appreciated that he had told her about it at all. Her thoughts stopped for a moment as she noticed how nice it felt to be holding his hand, but she was still bothered. She didn't want him to keep on acting as though this was just a fact that he had accepted.

"You are smart though. You just have a different set of things that you know a lot about."

"Uh-huh," Twister gave her a doubtful smile.

"I'm serious! You know more about videography that anyone I've ever met. And you're self-taught. And you're bilingual. After taking Spanish for three years, I still cannot imagine how anyone can know multiple languages. I barely got by in that class. And I know you struggle with school sometimes, but it's just because you have a different learning style. Once something clicks for you, you do really well with it. School just doesn't usually present the information in a way that connects for you. And you still don't let that stop you. That stuff comes naturally to some people, but I think it's much more impressive that you work hard to try to learn it. I've always admired that about you. Just because it doesn't come as easily to you doesn't mean you're not smart."

Twister smiled down at Reggie, moving his arm around Reggie's shoulder. "I see," he joked, "you're only with me for my brains."

"Yep. That's the only reason. It has absolutely nothing to do with your dashing good looks or our history or your hilarious, easygoing, thoughtful, and all-around spectacular personality. None of that," she smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Good," he replied, kissing her head.


	7. Chapter 7

They didn't head back home until around ten. It hadn't felt like they had been together for such a long time. After surfing more, he had taken her out for some pizza. After dinner, they had just been wandering around and talking or sitting on the beach, watching the waves crashing along the shore. Neither of them were ready to say goodnight by the time they had reached her doorstep. Shortly after their lips had met once more, Raymundo bursted through the door.

"Alright, Twister, night's over."

Reggie gave him a slightly embarrassed, apologetic smile, "Goodnight."

"Night, Reg. Night Raymu- oh, um, sir," he said awkwardly before turning and walking back towards his house.

"Well," Raymundo started, shutting the front door behind them, "Looks like you had a pretty good date."

Reggie blushed, "It was kind of perfect."

"I'm glad to hear it, princess. How was the secret spot? Was anyone else there today?"

"You knew he was taking me there?"

"He came to the Shack the other day, asking for permission to take you there."

Reggie smiled at his thoughtfulness. "There were a few people here and there, but none of them stayed very long. The waves were incredible today."

"Sounds great. Maybe we'll try to do a trip up there one day when things cool down at the Shack a little. I'm glad you two had a good time though. He was working pretty hard to try to make it a good date. He really seems to care about you."

"Yeah," she smiled at the ground. "He does."

"Yo, Reg," Otto said walking into the kitchen and grabbing a coke. "How was your _date_?" he asked without attempting to hide his amusement.

"As a matter of fact, we had an awesome date," she said a little defensively.

"An awesome date? It was Twister taking you out, wasn't it?" he mocked.

Reggie rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna go take a shower. Night, Dad," she said giving her father a kiss on the cheek. "Night, dork," she said giving Otto a thump on the head as she passed him.

"Dude, tell me you got that!" Otto said, landing at the top of the half-pipe at Madtown.

"Got it, Otto man," Twister said, holding his camera up.

"That was sick! I can't believe Reggie missed that! Where is she anyway?" Otto asked.

"I was wondering that myself," Sam interjected.

"I don't know, she's _your_ sister," Twister said. He didn't know what the new protocol was for talking about Reggie. Otto hadn't brought up anything about them yet, so Twister just assumed he should act the same as usual.

"I think she was still asleep when I left. I just figured you guys would keep tabs on each other all the time after yesterday," Otto said, chuckling. Twister tried not to blush. "You should have seen her last night. She was all googly eyed and swoon-y. And she darted away when I started messing with her about it."

"I think it's nice that you guys hit it off," Sam added.

Twister wasn't exactly sure what to say to any of this, but he didn't have to because Reggie walked through the gate before he had a chance to comment.

"Hey," she said to all of them, but smiling specifically at Twister.

"Where have you been? You missed my 360 kick-flip! Dude show her the tape," Otto said to Twister.

Twister pulled out his camera and rewinded to show her Otto's move. Twister whispered something to her while they watched and she laughed.

"Ugh," Otto groaned. "Enough with the cutesy, lovey-dovey stuff. Can we just focus on me for one minute?"

"Chill, Rocket boy," Reggie replied. "That was a sweet move. Nice job."

"I'm hungry, can we eat?" Twister announced.

"I second that. Let's hit the Shack," Sam agreed.

The four skated over to the Shack and sat at the counter while Tito took their orders. Twister took off his helmet and put it on the ground by his stool. Reggie commented on his helmet hair and ran a hand through his hair to try to improve it.

"Ugh, get a room!" Otto complained.

Tito explained to Otto, "When the volcano rises out of the sea and into the light, it can't be moved, its fire burns bright."

"I though volcanos were filled with lava," Twister said in a confused tone.

"_That_ is the guy your dating," Otto pointed out to Reggie.

"Lay off, Otto," Reggie retorted.

"Oo, someone's getting a little protective of her man," Otto said with a smirk.

Raymundo interrupted the conversation, "Otto, any updates on your test?"

"Oh, yeah!" Otto exclaimed enthusiastically. "I got it back on Friday. B minus, baby!"

"Nice work, Rocket boy," Reggie said, nudging him with her elbow.


End file.
